ISO personal accountant or friendly advice

amother

Papaya

Thu, Dec 20 2018, 1:58 am

(I'm in NY, if that matters. I assume accountants can work remotely anyway?)

Previous years I used TurboTax or HR Block to do my own taxes but I'm always questioning whether I'm doing it right.

This year I have a new question, maybe someone here happens to know the answer?
I got divorced this year. The divorce papers were filed in court in November. So the divorce is not final yet because it takes a few months for the papers to go through the court.
So does that mean I file as single or married for 2018?
If married but lived separately the whole year, is there still an option of filing jointly?
I think I remember last year learning that you can't get EITC and maybe other benefits if you are married filing separately. EITC could be worth a lot to me.

In general I could probably use an accountant to help me assess how the change in circumstance is going to affect my tax situation, but for starters I need to know how to file before I can even start to figure out anything else.

I tried searching online but couldn't find anything that fit the situation of having filed for divorce near the end of the year.

amother

Maroon

Thu, Dec 20 2018, 7:55 am

Assuming your divorced is finalized by the 31st If you have a qualified child you can file head of household which a more favorable tax status than single or married filing separately.

If you are not legally separated and your divorce is not finalized by the 31st you can file joint or separate.